Serleena
Serleena is the main antagonist of Columbia Pictures' 2002 sci-fi comedy film Men in Black II. She is the evil leader of the Kylothians who seeks to acquire the Light of Zartha, so she can conquer and destroy the planet Zartha, as well as Earth, with its power. She is a deadly, resourceful, and formidable shape-shifter, capable of changing her physical form to manipulate and terrify her enemies. Background History Since the late 1920s, Serleena had been at war with the Zarthans, in an attempt to acquire their greatest treasure, a great power source known as the Light of Zartha, which, if it were to end up in her hands, would spell the end of Zartha. Fifty years later, the Zarthans and their princess, Lauranna, flee their planet, and go to Earth, where they plead with the Men in Black to help them hide the Light on Earth. But, they can't oblige, because it would put Earth in danger, as well. Unfortunately, Serleena turns up, having tracked the Zarthans to Earth, but thankfully, the Men in Black detain her so the Zarthans can escape and hide the Light elsewhere. However, that wasn't really the case: Agent K, having developed feelings for Lauranna, launches a rocket to mislead Serleena, and hides the Light on Earth. Furious about losing the Light, Serleena shoots Lauranna to death, and chases after the rocket. Personality Serleena is a blasphemous, uncomplimentary, ruthless, and violent alien who cares little about her allies and enemies; she is known to insult them, constantly saying they are pathetically useless, and kill them without mercy. At one point in the film, Agent J describes her as "one of the most feared aliens in the universe", which suggests that she is also intimidating. Serleena is also very ravenous: she usually eats anyone who interferes with her or stands in her way, but kills them by other means, like her tentacles, which she feels are also favorable. However, Serleena has a soft spot for Zed, the leader of the Men in Black, who implies that she wishes she were his girlfriend. Unfortunately, Zed is not at all crazy about Serleena, as he calls her "a pile of squirmy crap in a different wrapper." Nonetheless, Serleena admires Zed because of how feisty he is. Development Barry Sonnenfeld, the director of the Men in Black ''films, felt that it would be more interesting to have a female villain this time, because girls bring more appeal to male audiences. Famke Janssen was originally cast as Serleena and had even filmed some scenes, but was forced to drop out of the project due to a death in her family. So, she was replaced with Lara Flynn Boyle. Rick Baker, the alien designer for the ''Men in Black ''films, along with David Nakabayashi and Maurico Baiocchi, artists for Industrial Light and Magic, took a look at plants, trees, and roots and how they grow to better create how Serleena changes forms. Physical Appearance Because of her ability to metamorphose, it's unclear what Serleena actually looks like. In the archive footage of 1978, Serleena appears to be a humanoid mass of vines and tendrils; when she first lands on Earth, she looks like a tiny snake-like plant creature. Her Lara Flynn Boyle disguise is her most prominent form. In Agent K's flashback, Serleena takes the shape of a cloaked woman with vines for a face. After being eaten by Jeff in the subway, Serleena takes the form of a huge snake-like plant beast, and then a mass of vines with a human face. Some of the concept art for Serleena depicts her looking like humanoid-plant hybrids, a cecealian-like plant creature, and in one instance, a four-legged monster plant. Role in the film After being fooled into thinking that the Light of Zartha had left Earth by Agent K back in 1978, Serleena spends the next two decades searching the universe, but fails to find it, destroying several planets in a disappointed rage. After 24 years, she concludes that the Light is still on Earth; she is proven correct when she receives a message from a two-headed alien, Charlie & Scrad, that the Light is on Earth. She lands on Earth, shortly before seeing a Victoria's Secret model magazine with a picture of Lara Flynn Boyle, and transforms into an exact replica of her. A mugger known as Creepy suddenly grabs Serleena and drags her into the bushes, intent on raping her; however, she swallows him whole. Walking back over to the magazine, Serleena realizes that eating a human isn't good for her disguise, so she coughs up his clothes for her to wear. Serleena meets up with Scrad & Charlie in Scrad's apartment; they are impressed by her glamorous appearance, before she uses her tendrils on them to remind them who they are talking to. They tell her they haven't found the Light, but they tracked it to Ben, the owner of Famous Ben's Pizzeria, who may know where it is. As the two head there, Serleena takes Scrad’s hamburger. At the pizzeria, Ben tells Serleena that the Light will leave Earth at midnight the next day, before she kills him, and she and Scrad leave the pizzeria, taking a whole pizza with them. Jumping to the conclusion that the neuralyzed Agent K is the one who knows where the Light is, Serleena infiltrates and takes over MIB headquarters, attacking and imprisoning all the agents, resulting in the building being put on lock-down, and she later releases several high-security prisoners (whom she sends to track down K), including a criminal genius named Jarra (whom Agent J captured five years prior), recruiting them as her minions. Serleena meets with Zed, the leader of MIB, demanding that he bring Agent K in, reminding him that if the Light doesn't leave Earth by midnight, it will self-destruct, completely destroying the planet, and that if they surrender the Light to her, she can spare the Earth. Zed seemingly complies, but then attacks Serleena, who effortlessly overpowers him. A little later, Serleena meets with Jarra, and asks him to provide her a space-craft that can travel 300 times the speed of light; he agrees to do it in exchange for Agent J. When J contacts Frank to go to Sub-Control level C to deactivate the lockdown, and that he and K have found the Light, as they head to meet the worm guys, Serleena imitates Frank, whom she has bound and gagged unbeknownst to J, before sending Scrad to capture Laura Vasquez, who is truly the Light. With Laura in her clutches, Serleena prepares to send her captive to her home planet, Kyloth. With the help of the worm guys, J and K infiltrate their headquarters. While J goes to the launch pad on the roof to rescue Laura, confronting and killing Jarra, Serleena holds K hostage in the main hall. Luckily, J returns and shoots Serleena, freeing K before Serleena has a chance to eat him. As Laura, J, and K drive off to the Light's departure point, Serleena is revealed to have been reduced to her worm-like form, but quickly turns back into her Victoria's Secret Model form. She then chases the three in the ship Jarra provided her. After a chase throughout New York City, J lures her into the subway, where she is devoured by Jeff, a giant alien-worm living in the subway that J encountered earlier. Believing they are safe from Serleena's wrath, the trio heads to the departure point on a rooftop where a hidden spacecraft to transport Laura back to Zartha is revealed. Suddenly, Jeff bursts through the roof and explodes, revealing Serleena in a giant mutated snake-like form. She attempts to recapture Laura, but J stops her by jumping in the way of her tendrils, getting himself ensnared in the process. As K repeatedly shoots Serleena to free J, he tells Laura that she has to get on the transport, otherwise they'll all die; as she reluctantly boards the vessel, K shoots Serleena until she collapses, releasing J from her grasp. However, she regains consciousness and sends out her true form, a mass of vines with a human face, after Laura. K and J shoot Serleena with their heavy weapons, destroying her in a spectacular fireworks display and ending her reign of terror on the Zarthans and the Men in Black once and for all, as well as avenging her murder victims. They then use a neuralyzer hidden within the Statue of Liberty's torch to cover up Serleena’s rampage, since numerous people from New York and New Jersey witnessed the whole thing. Other Appearances ''Men in Black: Alien Crisis Though she doesn't appear directly in the game, a simulation of Serleena's plant form is used as a boss fight during initiation. ''Men in Black 3'' App Serleena once again appears in her plant form as a boss. Trivia * Serleena is one of Columbia Pictures and Sony's most evil villains, along with Boris the Animal (another Men in Black series villain), Eli Raphelson, Vigo the Carpathian, General O'Connor, and Grigori Efimovich Rasputin. * Serleena’s only redeeming quality is her romantic interest in Zed, though doesn't deter her from torturing him like she does everyone else. * The movie company Industrial Light and Magic is also responsible for the special effects in the Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, ''Harry Potter, ''and ''Pirates of the Caribbean ''film franchises. 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